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Tour Roundup
PGA Tour
How flipping good is Scottie Scheffler at golf?! Wow.
The American returned to the top of the golf world rankings with a five shot victory over Englishman, Tyrrell Hatton.
It was one of the most comfortable victories I’ve ever seen round TPC Sawgrass. Despite watching both players in the group in front dunk their balls in the water on 17, Scottie calmly finished with two pars to collect his first Players Championship.
The 26 year old has now banked a whopping $24.5 million in just the last 2 seasons alone.
How good was this shot on 18 from Hatton on his way to 2nd place:
This week the tour stays in Florida for the Valspar Championship, where Sam Burns looks to become only the third player since 1981 to three-peat.
My pick for the week is Tommy Fleetwood. He was right in contention last week until a poor final round. His putting game is very solid and he’s swinging it well.
DP World Tour
It was a great week on the DP World Tour last week at the Magical Kenya Open. Jorge Campillo ended a his winless drought with a final round 66 to win by 2 shots.
It was also a good week for Englishman Ashley Chesters who finished in a tie for 7th, alongside Scotsman Robert MacIntyre.
And how about this drive from Nick Bachem. 414 yards? Yeh, no worries.
The World Of Golf
New Balls Please
This week the USGA and the R&A (golf’s governing bodies) announced some proposed golf ball changes to “elite competitions”.
According to these governing bodies, the top players are hitting it too far and golf courses are being lengthened to accommodate this.
Longer golf courses means more maintenance, greater amounts of water, and ultimately, more costs.
5% shorter is the proposal. McIlroy’s 320 yard drives will now only go 304…
Not a massive difference really, but, as you can expect, these plans received a little bit of criticism.
“selfish, biased, incorrect and self-centred,” were a couple of the words used by Justin Thomas on the matter.
Ball manufacturer, Titleist, weren’t overly pleased either: “The proposal of golf ball bifurcation is in many respects a solution in search of a problem.”
Luckily, the proposed changes will only come into play for “elite competitions”. This means we’re safe for the Monthly Medal. But still, it seems like a strange move from golf’s bigwigs.
The Big Drop
As LIV Golf heads to Tuscon this week, just how much have some of its players fallen in the Official World Golf Rankings since joining?
The only player who remains in the top 10 is Cameron Smith. The Australian currently sits in 5th spot, dropping 3 places from 2nd.
Former world number 1 and perhaps the most astonishing fall, Dustin Johnson, lies in 62nd place. That’s a 47-place drop from when he left the PGA Tour.
Other big names such as Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau don’t even make the top 100 anymore.
Martin Kaymer has suffered the biggest drop, however, falling 410 places all the way down to 625th in the world.
The crazy thing is, these players will only keep falling further and further from the top. Unless, of course, the OWGR starts including LIV Golf in the rankings.
What’s In The Bag
Have a look at what Scottie Scheffler used on his way to victory at The Players.
Ed’s Golf
- Current Handicap: 0.9
- Best Score in 2023: 74 (+3)
The weather wasn’t great last week but I managed to get out for 9 holes on the weekend.
Here’s the numbers for that round:
- Score: 36 (+2)
- 7 Pars, 2 Bogeys
- Fairways Hit: 4/7
- Greens Hit: 4/9
- Putts: 15
- Up and Downs: 2/4
- Sand Saves: 1/1
Something Useful
If you’re a 17 handicap looking to cut 5 shot off your game, I’m 95% sure improving your putting will help with that.
Cut out the three putts and hole more 5 footers. Here’s a few good drills to try:
Something Funny
Poor old LIV Golf. The struggle continues:
Something Extra
Also, here’s a few of our recent articles for you to get stuck into.
Founder, Editor
Ed is the founder and editor at EEE Golf. He’s been playing golf for over 20 years, competing in many top amateur events. He’s played courses all over the world and played with some of the best players in the game. His aim is to help educate people about the game of golf and give insights into the sport he loves most.